A 3GPP2 environment is one in which communication is generally directed to sending a data packet across a wireless media. In conventional systems, a mobile station (MS) attempts to initiate communication with a host computer (for example, a web server) using Internet protocol. In order to accomplish this, a service instance (basically, a virtual pipeline) can be set up from the MS to a router, such as a Packet Data Serving Node (PDSN). The MS can execute a plurality of service instances substantially concurrently. Each separate service instance, such as instances using file transfer protocol (FTP), voice over IP (VoIP) or Moving Picture Experts Group (MPEG) protocol, has one or more associated Quality of Service (QoS) characteristics, such as degree (if any) of acceptable packet loss, degree of packet delay, and so on.
However, there are problems associated with employing a plurality of service instances concurrently from the MS to the PDSN. One problem is that an MS could be running more than one application, wherein each application requires communication with separate hosts simultaneously. For instance, the MS could run FTP, VoIP, and MPEG, each ultimately with different hosts, and the MS could be receiving the IP flows associated with each application on different network addresses (IP addresses) and transport (TCP/UDP) ports. Moreover, each of these applications could require different QoS characteristics, and therefore could require its own service instance. For instance, FTP could tolerate delay, but not packet loss, and VoIP could tolerate some packet loss, but not delay. Each QoS characteristic would require its own service instance.
Therefore, a need exists for a method to setup and employ a plurality of service instances from an MS to a PDSN, each separate service instance having a separate “over the air” QoS requirement.